The present invention relates to vacuum cleaners, and more specifically to an upright vacuum cleaner with improved capability for cleaning floor edges and corners. However, it will be appreciated that the invention may additionally find application in a cleaning nozzle attachment of a canister-type vacuum cleaner or other vacuum cleaning apparatus, and its description in reference to an upright vacuum cleaner should not be construed as limiting the invention thereto.
The conventional upright vacuum cleaner is well known prior art. It is a single-piece portable vacuum cleaner including a base mounted on wheels, rollers, or the like, with a built-in nozzle whose opening is directed toward the floor for drawing debris therein; and an attached upright section usually containing at least an electrically powered means for generating vacuum suction, an air pathway connecting the nozzle with the vacuum suction, a filter to remove dirt and other debris drawn up into the nozzle and through the air pathway by the vacuum suction, an exhaust for ejecting the filtered air, and a handle for manually maneuvering the vacuum cleaner across the floor. The base is usually mechanically attached to the upright section by a hinge which improves vacuum cleaner maneuverability. Additional features often incorporated into commercial upright vacuum cleaners include a rotating brush or agitator near the nozzle opening for mechanically dislodging dirt, and a means for nozzle/base height adjustment to accommodate different flooring types such as thick rugs versus bare floors.
The upright vacuum cleaner has numerous advantages over other vacuum cleaner designs such as the canister system. These advantages include compactness, a convenient one-piece design, ease of operation, and a typically large vacuum footprint which is usually comparable to the floor area covered by the base.
However, upright vacuum cleaners suffer from some disadvantages, principally involving limited accessibility of the base/nozzle unit to confined areas such as floor edges and corners. A compromise solution is to incorporate into the upright vacuum cleaner an external vacuum suction orifice with associated detachable vacuum hose and cleaning attachments for vacuuming corners, furniture, walls, ceilings, and other hard-to-reach places. This design is essentially a hybrid between the upright vacuum cleaner and the canister system, and introduces the disadvantages of the latter. These disadvantages include the possibility of misplacing or losing accessories; the requirement for the operator to select, locate, and connect the appropriate attachment for each distinct cleaning task; and less compactness versus a conventional single-piece upright vacuum cleaner.
A second approach which addresses the floor edge and corner accessibility problem of the upright vacuum cleaner while potentially retaining its single-component design is to modify the nozzle/base design to direct a portion of the mechanical agitation and/or vacuum suction toward the side edges or corners of the base. U.S. Pat. No. 4,222,146 to Hertzberg, U.S. Pat. No. 5,475,893 to Sepke, U.S. Pat. No. 5,911,261 to Farone et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 6,094,776 to Fish, describe improved apparatus for mechanical agitation at the edges of the base through modified nozzle agitator design or additional auxiliary side brushes. In the Fish and Farone designs, the brushes are removable, while in the Sepke design a geared mechanism is provided to adjust the side brush position. Hertzberg teaches a modified nozzle agitator design which brings the agitator ends into close proximity to the base edge.
Improved suction at the edges is also provided at least in the Sepke invention by extending the nozzle opening to the extreme edges of the base. However, it will be noted that this extension distributes the vacuum suction over a larger total nozzle opening area and therefore will reduce the per-unit-area vacuum suction. Other designs for improved edge suction are described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,942,219 to Johnson and U.S. Pat. No. 6,039,817 to Payne, where in both designs valves are provided to selectively block off suction to the edge cleaners, thereby increasing the per-unit-area vacuum suction of the main nozzle when the edge cleaners are not in use.
The present invention contemplates an upright vacuum cleaner with an edge cleaner which provides easy operation and improved performance.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, an upright vacuum cleaner is disclosed, comprising: a handle for manually maneuvering the vacuum cleaner; a means for generating vacuum suction; a pathway into which an airflow is drawn by the suction means; a filter through which the airflow passes prior to exiting the vacuum cleaner, said filter acting to remove particles from the airflow; an exhaust though which the filtered airflow is discharged from the vacuum cleaner; a base; a vacuum nozzle contained within the base and connected to the suction means through the pathway; and an edge cleaner disposed at an edge of the base and including bristles for dislodging dirt and debris, the edge cleaner being adjustable into an operational position in which the bristles contact the floor beyond the edge of the base.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, an edge cleaner for a vacuum cleaner is disclosed, comprising: a main body having a vacuum inlet hole; and a fastener holding the main body to the vacuum cleaner base, the fastener enabling movement of the main body into: an operational position in which the vacuum inlet hole extends beyond the edge of the base and faces the floor and is further operatively connected to the vacuum suction, and a stowed position in which the vacuum inlet hole is operatively disconnected from the vacuum suction.
In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention, in an upright vacuum cleaner having a base containing a primary air passageway through which a vacuum suction is pulled, a method for selectively extending cleaning action beyond an edge of the base is disclosed, the method comprising: brushing particles loose from the floor using a brush, the brush being permanently attached to the base, and further being selectively extendable into a position beyond the edge of the base and in operative contact with the floor.
One advantage of the present invention is that it provides an easy-to-use edge cleaner which is integral to the base and is selectively positioned beyond an edge of the base, thereby facilitating vacuuming at floor edges and especially at floor corners.
Another advantage of the present invention is that the vacuum cleaner may retain the one-piece design of conventional upright vacuum cleaners while still providing improved edge-cleaning capability.
Another advantage of the present invention is that the edge cleaner may be selectively stowed in a recess of the base when not in use.
Another advantage of the present invention is that vacuum suction is blocked off from the edge cleaner when the edge cleaner is in the stowed position, thereby directing full vacuum suction to the main nozzle of the vacuum cleaner when the edge cleaner is not in use.
Yet another advantage of the present invention is that the edge cleaner in the stowed position lies within a recess of the base, providing an aesthetically pleasing essentially continuous and essentially smooth base profile.
Still further advantages and benefits of the present invention will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading and understanding the following detailed description.